Peripatetic accountant Frank McGinity opened the gates of his charming historic Riven Rock estate for An Artful Affair for 135 guests and organized by the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara. Nine local artists – Ralph Waterhouse, Chris Chapman, John Iwerks, Danuta Bennett, Chris Potter, Ann Sanders, Patricia Post, Ray Hunter, and Andrea Anderson – and […]
Fittingly enough, a variety of spaghetti was on the menu when local historian and Noozhawk scribe Erin Graffy spoke to members of the Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub about our Eden by the Beach’s rich Italian heritage, which started from the Piedmont region in the late 19th century. The influx continued from the Veneto region […]
Just in time for the holiday, Ensemble Theatre Company presents its first play of the new season, the Broadway hit The Thanksgiving Play, written by Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse and directed by Brian McDonald. Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in the wickedly funny satire as a troupe of terminally “woke” teaching artists scramble […]
Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when it opened its latest exhibition California Missions by English artist Edwin Deakin. From 1769 to 1833, the Franciscan Order established 21 missions in Alta California stretching from San Diego to Sonoma, with the primary purpose to convert the indigenous peoples to Roman Catholicism while at […]
New York’s century-old Martha Graham Dance Company gave a sensational kickoff to the UCSB Arts & Lectures dance series at the sold-out Granada. It was a fitting launch given Graham, who died in 1991, aged 96, attended Santa Barbara High School, graduating in 1913, after being editor of the school newspaper and captaining the girls’ […]
Having opened a branch of Lucky’s, the Coast Village Road carnivore mecca, on Cross Creek Road in Malibu two years ago, entrepreneurial owner Gene Montesano has now set his sights on Manhattan, I can exclusively reveal. My mole with the martini tells me the planned locale is Lafayette Street in pulsating Greenwich Village, just a […]
Party guests at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network gala got an early taste of Halloween with its theme Wild Night Out: Nocturnal. Many of the 225 party animals dressed as Dracula or sported bat wings at the beastly bash at the historic Santa Barbara Club that raised around $150,000 for the popular 35-year-old nonprofit, […]
Former award-winning opera performer Joan Rutkowski certainly had a lot to sing about when she won the Jacaranda Award for Community Service at the 59th annual Santa Barbara Beautiful bash, chaired by Marcella Simmons, at the Music Academy. Fittingly enough, Joan, who moved to our rarefied enclave in 1968 with her late cellist husband, Geoffrey, […]
Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council hosted its annual Green Gala for more than 200 guests at its new 10,000-square-foot Environmental Hub on State Street, just a tiara’s toss from the Granada Theatre. The handsome property, formerly the home of the Unity Shoppe, underwent a major $3.5 million renovation, with the boffo bash, which brings together […]
Opera Santa Barbara kicked off its 30th season on a particularly high note at the Granada when it staged Bizet’s 1875 masterpiece Carmen, the first time in seven years. The hugely entertaining three-hour, four-act show with Kostis Protopapas, general director, conducting, featured mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino, a Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, in […]
Santa Barbara Education Foundation hosted its annual Love of Literacy lunch at the Rockwood Woman’s Club with a sold-out crowd of 200 raising more than $49,000 for the cause. The bibliophile bash, chaired by Tisha Ford, featured prolific author Thomas Sanchez, 79, a descendant of Spanish immigrants and Portuguese cattlemen, who has lived in Paris, […]
Alan Heeger and Cynthia Brown have joined the board of directors of the Ensemble Theatre Company. These additions underscore the company’s commitment to advancing its mission and expanding its reach within the Santa Barbara community. Both bring a wealth of experience, diverse perspectives, and a shared passion for the arts. Welcome on board…
After an extensive national search, the Santa Barbara Foundation has appointed Elizabeth Thasiah as new vice president of programs. A longtime South Coast resident, Thasiah brings more than 15 years of relevant experience – most recently four years with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, where she ledkey strategies. She served six years as division manager […]
Five-time Grammy Award-winning music genius Jacob Collier, making his Santa Barbara debut, wowed the audience at Campbell Hall when USCB Arts & Lectures launched its 64th season. London-born Collier, 29, creates mesmerizing soundscapes using layered vocal tracks and sophisticated editing techniques. His multi-frame, multi-instrumental viral videos and impressive Grammy wins have earned him a devoted […]
One805LIVE!, the organization founded in 2018 after the mudslides that devastated our rarefied enclave, is now By Royal Appointment! For the second consecutive year, Oscar winner Kevin Costner opened the gates of his 10.25-acre Carpinteria oceanside estate, just a tiara’s toss from his $145 million beach compound, which attracted a record 3,000 guests and raised […]
Longtime Santa Ynez Valley resident Bernie Taupin, 73, longtime lyricist for rocker Elton John, has published a new memoir Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me. Taupin provides insight into his close friendship with the legendary piano man and their remarkably successful collaboration which produced over 50 Top 40 hits. He was a founding member of […]
It was a scene worthy of Degas as 130 guests arrived at the Santa Barbara home of board member Gary Dorfman for the State Street Ballet gala honoring founder Rodney Gustafson and the Gail Towbes Center for Dance. Dancers, beautifully dressed in full ballet attire, graced the entrance to the boffo bash, which was co-chaired […]
I was last at Bellosguardo, the 24-acre oceanfront estate owned by the late copper heiress Huguette Clark, who died in 2011 at the age of 104, for a megabuck fundraising gala five years ago, so it was nice to return to the magnificent aerie when the Bellosguardo Foundation, with assistance from the Santa Barbara Historical […]
To Chaucer’s, the bibliophile bastion in Loreto Plaza, to hear Chicago-based author Melanie Benjamin, 60, expound on her latest novel California Golden, about two sisters navigating the surf culture and tangled ties between mothers and daughters in the ‘60s. A prolific historical novelist, Benjamin wrote The Aviator’s Wife on Anne Morrow Lindbergh, which has been […]
On a personal note, I remember philanthropist and longtime Casa Dorinda resident Irene Hymanson, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the age of 81. Irene was the daughter of violinist William Hymanson, a member of the Music Academy faculty from 1959to 1969. After living and working in Los Angeles as a paralegal, she […]
On a personal note, I mark the passing of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. actor David McCallum, who has died in New York, aged 90. Scotsman McCallum played Illya Kuryakin from 1964 to 1968 and starred on 475 episodes of the CBS drama NCIS from 2003 for two decades. I last saw him at NCIS creator […]
Casa del Herrero, the historic George Washington Smith-designed home and gardens located on East Valley Road, is selling a two-acre parcel connected to the property. By an overwhelming majority vote of the board of trustees, including full support from the Bass and Steedman family members serving on the board, the land sale was approved. Medora […]
The capacious stage of the venerable Granada Theatre, which hosts six resident companies, was socially gridlocked with more than 200 guests for the 7th annual Legends gala, appropriately enough emceed by the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone, whose parents Brooks and Kate Firestone were being lauded. The recipients also included the historic Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC), the […]
A record crowd of 205 guests turned out for the 7th annual Heart of New House lunch at the Hilton, raising around $120,000 for the nonprofit which has helped men with drug and alcohol problems for the past 68 years. The charity, which has an annual budget of $1.2 million, has 100 residents in three […]
Fans of top American trial lawyer Gerry Spence, 94, got a rare chance to see his works of art at his 24-acre estate on Romero Canyon Road. Gerry, the author of 17 books, is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and has never lost a criminal case before a jury as a […]
Our Eden by the Beach’s latest hotel, The Steward, is a charming and historical gem on nearly five acres with 87 one-bedroom suites. The Tribute Portfolio by Marriott, described as “a modern hideaway rooted in horticulture,” dates back to the 1860s when the charming Goleta estate was the Victorian home of pioneer horticulturist Joseph Sexton, […]
Camerata Pacifica launched its 34th season in fine style at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall with works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Elgar. Musical lovers turned out in force to see the chamber music group founded by Irishman Adrian Spence at the age of 25, with an inaugural performance at the Lobero as the Bach Camerata. […]
Santa Barbara, not surprisingly, is the most expensive city to be happy in the U.S. An Australian-based money exchange service, S Money, has ranked the most costly cities in America based on data from a 2018 Purdue University study on the relationship between happiness and income to find the price of happiness in every metropolis. […]
A sea of blue swept over Bella Vista, the sprawling oceanside Summerland estate of polo playing hotelier Pat Nesbitt and his wife Ursula with 500 guests raising around $350,000 for the 14-year-old Santa Barbara Police Foundation with the annual Fun with the Force gala. The popular organization provides financial support for injured and ill police department […]
A record crowd of nearly 300 guests turned out at the Rosewood Miramar for the 11th Heroes of Hospice lunch, raising around $200,000 for the nonprofit that celebrates its half century next year. The event’s theme Celebrating Those We Love and their ongoing impact in our lives, was emceed by Jesse Brisendine, a longtime volunteer, […]
Santa Barbara Humane, founded in 1887 and the fourth-oldest animal welfare organization in the United States, went to the doge when it held its first-ever gala An Evening in Venice at the Hilton, attracting 267 guests and raising more than $250,000. The beastly bash, designed by local party planner Rebecca Gigandet and chaired by Susan […]
Veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti, who has conducted the Santa Barbara Symphony for 18 years, took center stage at the Lobero when promoting the orchestra’s 71st season for more than 600 guests, who quaffed champagne and noshed on canapés on the Lovelace Esplanade outside the theater beforehand. The new season, which kicks off at the Granada […]
Hearts Aligned, a new charity which supports low-income families with critically ill children, held a fundraiser hosted by the Red Piano on State Street, attracting nearly 100 guests and raising around $10,000. Vivian Solodkin, founder and executive director, acted as emcee for the Rock Your Heart Out bash with the Tearaways, a group combining the […]
Animal activist and winemaker Gretchen Lieff threw an end of summer bash at her La Lieff winery in the Funk Zone for 50 guests. “It has been a wonderful summer,” says Gretchen. “We hosted events for Planned Parenthood, the Wildlife Care Network, C.A.R.E.4Paws, the Adopt-a-Pet program, UCSB Arts & Lectures, and the Teddy Bear Cancer […]
Having got to know King Charles III in the ‘70s when I would see him every weekend at the Guards Polo Club, a short drive from Windsor Castle, when I covered the Royal Family for the U.K.’s Daily Mirror, I wrote a lengthy letter to him at his London home, Clarence House, reminiscing about such […]
It has been almost 10 years since Santa Barbara’s Paul Walker died in a tragic car accident, but the pain of his passing still impacts his younger actor brother Cody just days before what would have been his 50th birthday. The Fast & Furious star died in 2013 aged 40 after a Porsche he was […]
Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when it hosted the 114-year-old NetJets Pacific Coast Open with more than 3,000 spectators watching the hotly contested match, with both teams attempting to gain a hat trick. Farmers & Merchants Bank, which won the trophy in 2017 and 2019 under captain Dan Walker, was up […]
A bevy of bibliophiles descended on Tecolote, the upper village literary gem, when retired corporate attorney David Gersh hosted a launch bash for his latest art mystery, All’s Fair, featuring Jonathan Benjamin Franklin. It is one of eight books that Montecito resident David, a Harvard Law School graduate, has written. His last tome, published in […]
Funk Zone dynamic interior design duo Steve and Caroline Thompson held a double celebration at Cabana Home when they celebrated the opening of the new West Coast boutique of the historic wallpaper and furniture maker Thibaut and a new exhibition of art works by Chris Trueman, presented by Los Angeles dealer Edward Cella. Thibaut, which […]
Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau, 85, and his partner Nancy Marr met in Maui in 1985, living there for 11 years before moving to our Eden by the Beach in 1992. “I lived with my family on the island for 22 years and have many friends who have been devastated by the Lahaina Fire,” says Nan. To […]